Wheel-plow.



N0. 122,205. PATENTED MAR. 10, 1903,

- J. BUCHANAN & E. M. HICKMAN.

WHEEL PLOW.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 11, 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

NO MODEL.

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No. 722,205. PATENTBD MAR. 10, 1903.

J. BUCHANAN & E. M. HIGKMAN.

WHEEL PLOW.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 11, 1902.

no MODEL. 7 z SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WW EEEVES n twigs 2 7 MM 4% 2222 M22 K I JUDSON BUCHANAN AND EDGAR M. I-IIOKMAN, OF OHATTANOOGA, TENNES- SEE, ASSIGNORS TO CHATTANOOGA PLOW COMPANY, A CORPORATION WHEEL- PLOW.

SPECIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 722,205, dated March 10, 1903.

Application filed August 11 1902.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, J UDSON BUCHANAN and EDGAR 1VLHIOKMAN,Citiz6nS of the United States, residing at Chattanooga, in the county of Hamilton and State of Tennessee, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Wheel-Plows,of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

Our invention relates to wheel-plows. It is designed more especially for application to or embodiment in wheel'plows having on the furrow side two trailing caster-wheels, which travel in the furrows and bear against the vertical wall of the furrow, as is well known in this art.

The object of our improvement is to form such a connection between said caster-wheels as will lead to the control of the movement of the rear caster-wheel upon its vertical axis by the forward caster-wheel. Heretofore connections have been made between such casterwheels permitting movement of the front caster-wheel upon its vertical axis in either direction. In our improved construction the connection between said caster-wheels is such as to permit the turning of the front casterwheel upon its axis in only one direction.

An incidental feature of our improved construction is the absence of direct connection between the team and the front caster-wheel. Neither the tongue nor the doubletree directly guide the front caster wheel. Said wheel has a vertical axle journaled in the frame of the plowindependently of the tongue and doubletree, so that said wheel is clearly, a trailer; but its freedom to trail is by means of the connection between the two casterwheels limited to one direction. The con- 0 nection between the two caster-wheels is such that lateral movement of the rear castenwheel in the forward direction is prevented when the front caster-wheel is in its normal position and such connection is so arranged as that the force transmitted through said connection by the rear caster-wheel in its tendency to turn forward is received in line with the vertical axis of the front caster-wheel, so that said strain has no tendency to turn said front caster-wheel on its vertical axis.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is Serial No. 119,310. (No model.)

a plan showing the vertical shafts of the two caster-wheels'located at the right-hand side of a wheel-plow and our improved connection extending from one of said shafts to the other. Fig. 2 shows the mechanism of Fig. 1 turned upon its right-hand side. Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a vertical section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a vertical section on the line 5 5 of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a detail view of the rear portion of the connecting-rod 8. Fig. 7 is a plan of a frame of a wheel-plow with our invention applied thereto.

The general construction of such plows is so well understood that we deem it unnecessary to illustrate a complete plow.

Referring to said drawings, A is the frame of a wheel-plow.

B is the land-wheel.

G is the front caster-wheel, and D is the rear caster-wheel.

l is the vertical axle of the front casterwheel, and 2 is the vertical axle of the rear caster-wheel.

To the axle 2 is rigidly applied an arm 8, extending toward the right of the machine at right angles to the line of draft. To the axle 1 is applied a rigid arm 4, which is directed toward the free end of the arm 3. To the lower face of the arm 4 is applied a plate or block 5. A bolt 6, extending vertically through the block 5 and the arm 4, adjacent to the free end of the latter, forms a vertical hinge or bearing for said block. Said hinge permits movement in a horizontal plane; but such movement is limited by a suitable stop, so that the forward or free end of such block may move to the left away from said arm 4, but cannot move toward the right from beneath said arm 4. Such a stop is formed by a lug 7, extending upward from the left-hand side of said block, so as to bear against the left-hand side of the arm 4 when the free end of said block tends to move toward the right, and a bolt 7 may extend through said lug and bear against the arm 4. When said bolt is used, it constitutes a means of adjustment for establishing precisely the desired relation between the block 5 and the arm 4. Two lugs or cars 5 extend downward from the rear end of the block 5, parallel to said arm 4. The

front end of a bar or rod 8 extends between said ears, and a bolt 8 extends horizontally through said ears and the end of said bar, whereby a hinge is formed between said block and said rod.

On the arm 3 at the rear of the plow is pivoted a block 9 by means of a vertical bolt 9, extending through said block and said arm. Said block 9 has vertical parallel ears 9", between which lies the rear end of the bar 8. A bolt 9 extends horizontally through said ears and the end of said bar, whereby a hinge is formed between said block and said bar. Thus we have the bar 8 joined to the arm 3 by two hinges and to the arm 4 by two hinges-a vertical hinge and a horizontal hinge. The horizontal hinges are provided to permit vertical adjustment of one of the caster-wheel shafts with reference to the other.

The bar or rod 8 is preferably adapted to permit the free end of the arm 3 to swing rearward independently of the movement of the front caster-wheel. This can be accomplished by forming said bar or rod of two sections 8 and 8, the latter telescoping into the former. Under this arrangement the arm 3 may swing rearward and draw the section 8 rearward in the section 8 At the front end of the section 8 a stop 8, extending through the section 8*, limits the forward movement of the section 8 within the section 8 It will be observed that the hinges formed by the bolt 9*, the bolt 6, and the front vertical axle 1 are in line. Hence any forward thrust imparted to the rod 8 by the arm 3-will be transmitted directly against said axle 1, and said thrust will have no tendency to turn said axle in either direction. Then so long as the front caster-wheel is in its normal position the strains imparted by the rear wheel to the arm 3 will not be transmitted to the front caster-wheel. Hence the front casterwheel will turn onits vertical axis only in response to resistance applied by the ground and in response to strains received through the lateral movement of the plow-frame by the team, and such movement of the front caster-wheel'upon its vertical axis is limited to one directionnamely, the direction involving the movement of the free end of the arm 4 to the left, movement in the opposite direction being prevented by the stop 7 bearing against the left-hand side or edge of the arm 4.

We have ascertained by experiment that the front caster-wheel need not turn upon its vertical axis when the team turns toward the left, that it is feasible to then make the plow turn upon the land-wheel and the front casterwheel, with said wheels in fixed relation to each other, as in an ordinary two-wheeled cart, the rear caster-wheel being then free to trail by reason of the slipping of the section 8 rearward in the section 8 of the connecting-bar 8. When the team turns to the right,

the front caster-wheel is free to trail and throw the free end of the arm 4 to the left,

and this movement of said arm permits the forward movement of the connecting-rod 8, whereby the forward movement of the free end of the arm 3 is permitted. This latter movement permits the rear caster-wheel to trail for the easy and short turning of the plow.

It will be understood that the hinges by which the connecting-rod 8 is joined to the 'arms 3 and 4 may be varied without departing from our invention. The vertical hinge joining the rear end of the arm 4 to the conmeeting-rod 8 may be in any form suited to permit action in one direction and prevent it in the other direction. For convenience we apply herein to said hinge the generic name stop-hinge. In some cases it will probably be desirable to so form said stop-hinge as to permit the axis of said hinge to move alittle to the right of a line extending from the center of the vertical shaft 1 and the vertical hinge at the rear end of the rod 8 in order that slight accidental lateral movements of the front caster-wheel may not unlock said stop-hinge. It will also be understood that the slipping or sliding bearing whereby the arm 3 is at all times free to swing rearward may be varied. For example, instead of forming said rod 8 of telescoping sections the aperture through which the bolt 9 extends may be elongated horizontally, as shown in Fig. 6, so that said bolt has a range of movement within said aperture. For convenience we apply to the connecting rod having provision for slipping, so as to at all times permit the arm 3 to swing rearward, the generic designation slipping connecting-rod.

We claim as our invention 1. In a wheel-plow, the combination of the vertical front caster-wheel axle, 1, the vertical rear caster-wheel axle, 2, a rigid arm extending laterally from said axle, 2, at right angles to the line of draft, an arm, 4, extending rearward from said axle, 1, a connectingrod hinged at its front end to said arm, 4, by means of a stop-hinge and hinged by its rear end to the free end of arm, 3, substantially as described.

2. In a wheel-plow, the combination of the vertical front caster-wheel axle, 1, the vertical rear caster-wheel axle, 2, a rigid arm extending laterally from said axle, 2, at right angles to the line of draft, an arm, 4, extending rearward from said axle, 1, a slipping connecting-rod hinged at its front end to said arm, 4, by means of a stop-hinge and hinged at its rear end to the free end of arm, 3, substantially as described.

3. In a wheel-plow, the combination of the Vertical front caster-wheel axle, 1, the verti cal rear caster-wheel axle, 2, a rigid arm extending laterally from said axle, 2, at right angles to the line of draft, an arm, 4, extend ing rearward from said axle, 1, a connectingrod hinged at its front end to said arm, 4, by a horizontal hinge and by a vertical stophinge and joined at its rear end to arm, 3, by a Vertical hinge and a horizontal hinge, substantially as described.

1. In a Wheel-plow, the combination of the vertical front caster-wheel axle, 1, the vertical rear caster-wheel axle, 2, a rigid arm extending laterally from said axle, 2, at right angles to the line of draft, an arm, 4E, extending rearward from said axle, 1, aslipping connecting-rod hinged at its front end to said arm, 4, bya horizontal hinge and by a vertical stop-hinge and joined at its rear end to arm, 3, by a vertical hinge and a horizontal hinge, substantially as described.

5. In a wheel-plow, the combination of the vertical front caster-wheel axle, 1, the vertical rear caster-wheel axle, 2, a rigid arm extending laterally from said axle, 2, at right names, in presence of two Witnesses, this 31st 30 day of July, 1902.

JUDSON BUCHANAN. EDGAR M. I-IIOKMAN.

lVitnesses:

HOWARD MITCHELL, G. H. BRADSHAW, J r. 

